Meeting
by AllThingsInsane
Summary: When John Winchester meets nurse, Kate Milligan after losing a battle with a ghoul, he connects instantly with her but wanting to protect her, leaves Windom after recovering from his injuries. However, fate has different plans for the broken Winchester. What will he do when Kate calls him and informs him of her pregnancy?
1. Meeting

John Winchester hated hospitals. Hated them with a burning, unmatched passion. The endless forms, doctors expecting you to recite word for word what had happened to you, how you managed to get yourself skinned within an inch of your life, and how you could possibly be still standing on your own two feet.

He could say that it was just typical Winchester luck and that the 'hunting accident' was really a hunting trip for a ghoul and these types of injuries, while inconvenient, were really just Winchester luck rearing it's ugly head again.

But he had a feeling that the doctors there would only send him right down to the psychiatric ward of the hospital, with the rubber room and straight jacket, the whole ugly nine yards. He would just stick with the truth as much as possible: He was hunting out in the woods and was mauled by a bear; his injuries were consistent with a bear attack and it should be no problem to convince a late-night doctor of that.

He was actually relieved, if he was being honest with himself, to be lying down on a bed, no matter how bright it was from the overhead lights, or how cold and impersonal the bed felt, it sure as hell beat sleeping in his truck for the night while he gathered up the strength to drag himself back to South Dakota where Sam and Dean were and where Bobby could patch him up.

"Mr. Winchester?"

'Finally,' he thought. He had been waiting for more than an hour while the other 'more critical' patients were taken care of first. When he glanced at the woman that now stood next to him, he almost fell over-which would have been a very bad idea for his scarred body. The woman, she looked like Mary, she looked like she could been her sister or Mary herself.

"Mary?" He whispered.

The nurse looked uncomfortable. "No. No. I'm Kate," she pointed to her name tag that accompanied her photo identification. "Is she your wife?" Kate looked hopeful.

John looked at her confused.

"We've been trying to find some family to call, but we haven't..." she trailed off at the look on John's face. "I'm sorry. Is she-"

"Dead. Has been for a long time."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." She busied herself with doing her routine check of his vitals, and then writing down her report for the attending doctor that would take it from there. There was something about him that she couldn't shake; maybe it was the ruggedly good looks that he had, or the tough-guy exterior that really she could sense was just a mask for the person that was hidden beneath all that.

She shook her head as she fastened the blood pressure cuff around his arm. Her mother would be ashamed of her right now if she could see inside her head; she had taught her not to think so vainly, to think about the person rather than the looks. But damnit, she couldn't help herself with this guy.

"I'm sorry about the long wait," she wouldn't meet his eyes as she read the reading the blood pressure cuff gave before taking it off and placing it back in its holder. "We had a multi-car pileup down the street, and since we're the closest hospital, all the vics came here."

"Don't worry about it." He glanced over at her. "So what's the verdict, nurse Kate?"

She rolled her eyes and he allowed a smile-a rare smile that he only allowed his sons to see nowadays. Her smile was pretty, she had straight, pearly white teeth and he could see a youthful innocence about her that he liked immediately because it reminded him painfully of Mary, just like everything else about Kate did.

"You'll live with some careful R&R."

He arched an eyebrow. "And I don't suppose you know how to give it to me?"

What was wrong with him? He had never blatantly flirted with anyone, ever. Not since Mary, when he was practically swept off his feet by her fiery temper, fierce strong will and ability to hold her own in even the most disturbing of circumstances.

"I could," she allowed a coy smile. "For a price, that is."

He swallowed. He was most definitely not expecting that. He glanced at her, maybe he had overestimated her because she reminded him so much of his wife that he thought she, naturally, would carry all of her mannerisms, too.

"For...for a price?"

"Get your head out of the gutter, Winchester," she snapped. "I'm no slut like some of my coworkers around here." She wasn't blind; she could see the way her coworkers had shamelessly flirted with him when he had limped his way through the ER doors, and why wouldn't they? He was easily one of the more attractive patients they had ever had.

"Then what?" His face held a teasing smile as he saw her duck her head, blushing profusely as she worked on adjusting his medication.

"Tell me how you really got hurt. I don't buy the whole, 'I tripped and the bear got me' story. So tell me." She looked at him expectantly. "Or else you're gonna get a cold meal at my place."

"A what?"

"You need some R&R? You're not going to find that sleeping in that truck thing of yours. Might as well show you what its like living with a nurse for a few days, huh?"

"Oh, I can't-I can't accept that," he stammered. Sure she was beautiful, and kind and smart, but could he really take advantage of her like that? Could he agree to more or less become her roommate for however long it took for him to recover?

"Sure you can, and you will. I saw what you drive, and no offense, but I am not going to allow you to sleep in some back alley, or rent a craptastic motel room and rough it on your own."

What was he thinking even considering it? He had to be out of his mind but there was something about her that commanded his attention, and he guessed he was curious more than anything to see how their tentative friendship would play out.

"Okay."

"Good." She had a smug, satisfied expression on her face. "Besides, you need someone to change your bandages on your back."

"I can do that," John mumbled, not really used to anyone caring for him except for maybe Dean. Having her do it would be completely embarrassing considering the gravity of his injuries and how he had been so stupid to get them in the first place.

"Typical man response," she rolled her eyes.

* * *

John had to admit that it wasn't that bad taking Kate up on her offer to care for him; she lived in a two-bedroom apartment building down the street from the hospital, and since its occupant was rarely home, the apartment was immaculate in its cleanliness.

"Its not much," she shrugged, setting her bags down. "But it does it for me."

"No, I think it's great." Obviously she wouldn't know that, to him, this apartment was the most extravagant place he had seen in almost seven years; rarely, he rented a backwoods cabin or a small house when time permitted it, but his main living quarters consisted of whatever one-room motel he could afford from hustling money he had gotten.

"Okay, maybe we should adjust your medications."

He laughed.

It felt nice.

It felt nice to just laugh and not worry about letting his guard down by doing that. It felt nice to just breathe, and know that she would never know about his life, even though she had tried to ask him; he was grateful for her sake that she was obliviously safe in her safe community and hospital while he had to go back home in two days after playing house with her.

* * *

For those two days, Kate and John had an easy-going and fun relationship. But John was not blind to what was going on. He could see it through stolen glances and lingering gazes from Kate, and if he was being completely honest with himself, he caught himself doing the same thing.

He didn't have any clue whether or not it was from the fact that, from the moment he met her, she reminded him of Mary, or if it was just the fact that she was a genuinely nice person and showed it by practically taking him in from the streets and caring for him.

He was not the type of person to have random one-night stands with people, but if he was ever going to do that with someone, he knew it would be her. Only, he would have to make sure that she knew that there would never be any future for them, there was no way he could risk her safety in that way, make her say goodbye to the family she must have.

"I hope pizza's okay," she said casually as she came out of the bathroom where she had been taking a shower. He could see the steam still clinging to the bathroom mirror, and what was more, he could see the way her clothes clung to her body from the moisture that was sill present from the water.

"Yeah, it's fine."

He watched her discreetly as she prepared the slices, putting them on paper plates and setting them down on the coffee table.

"How are your kids?"

He had told her about Sam and Dean, the night before when the need to call them had become too overwhelming, and she had graciously let him use her phone to call them.

He swallowed his bite, not aware that he had some cheese still on his chin.

"They're good, thank you. Anxious for me to come-"

At that moment, Kate caught him totally off guard when she kissed the cheese off his chin. The feel of her lips on his skin sent a warm fire blazing up his back and through his body as his eyes fluttered shut. She didn't stop there, though. She continued kissing up his chin until her lips met his. His mouth obediently parted as their tongues battled for dominance with each other.

His hand, moving like the expert it was already, roamed through her hair, tangling itself through her soft, dirty blond hair. She didn't break the hold like he expected her to, after she realized what she was doing; if anything, her kisses became even more frenzied as she realized that maybe this moment would be one of the last she would share with the handsome, mystery patient of hers.

He knew he had to stop this; it wouldn't be fair to lead her on when all it would accomplish was heartbreak for her and for him, if he was being completely honest with himself. He didn't want to. But he knew that he must.

He gently broke off their kiss, feeling instant regret course through his veins; sure, he had engaged in the occasional hook-up, but never one like this. Never where he felt such an instant connection with the woman. He cursed the life he had, cursed the fact that because of it, he would never be able to be with Kate as fully as he would have liked to be.

"Kate..."

He saw the hurt in her eyes; saw the confusion. He felt horrible for hurting her, but knew that it was for the best.

"I sure know how to pick 'em," she muttered more to herself than to him. "I mean..." she scoffed and looked away from him.

He felt like he owed her an explanation, something to ease the broken-hearted look on her face. She was fiddling with her pant leg, trying to look anywhere but in his face. Part of her felt embarrassed for coming onto him so strong, and another felt just plain angry that he took something so precious away from her.

"Kate, listen. The way I am-the life I have, it doesn't lend itself to long-term relationships. If I let-I didn't want this, whatever this is to be a lie. I don't want to be something I'm not, Kate. I wouldn't be able to give you my hundred-percent. I would never be able to be what you needed."

Kate knew that her mother would, once again, be ashamed of her conduct with him but, her heart and everything in her was pushing the thought out of her head as a more dominant part of her reared its head-she didn't care. She didn't care if she would be considered a slut or a trashy girl, she wanted him. She wanted to be with him even if it was only for one night.

"Just give me this one night, John."

He stared at her, not comprehending what she was saying. "Kate?"

"I know, John. I know what you said, but I don't care, okay? I know it's selfish of me, but just please...just please give me tonight. That's all I ask."

He nodded. How could he deny her anything at this point? She had invited him into her home and he had broken her heart. He would be heartless to deny her anything else.

"Okay."

She smiled, relieved. She had been there and done that with guys in the past; guys thinking that just because she looked like a ditzy blond, she would be an easy lay and for the most part, they were right, but she didn't feel that way with John, she felt a pure sort of love for him that she couldn't explain or get rid of; maybe it was the fact that it was so painfully obvious that he was trying to make her happy, but didn't know how, or maybe it was the fact that she could see the love for his kids, even if he only spoke two-word sentences about them.

"G-go on in and I'll be there," she stammered, getting up and moving into the bathroom for the second time that night. She needed to freshen up! She needed to make sure that she didn't have pizza breath, and she needed to make sure that she looked at least half-way presentable to the man that she naturally assumed was a natural at hooking the attractive girls.

When she emerged from her bathroom and wandered into her bedroom, she found John already in there, lying down on the bed, shirt off and blanket drawn across his lap. If possible, she found him even more attractive without his shirt on. She saw him looking at some of her pictures that she had set on the nightstand-pictures of her deceased sister, pictures of her parents and friends from nursing school.

"These your parents?"

"Yes." She crawled into bed beside him and laid her head on his massive, muscular chest. "My dad owns his own car shop."

"My parents used to, too. They used to call themselves, 'the family of mechanics.'"

It seemed as though Kate had gotten tired of the foreplay. She ran her lips over his chest, repositioning herself so that she was straddling him as she kissed up and down his chest, running her lips up and down his stomach and chest and then gradually moving up to the hollow of his throat and then up his chin before finally capturing his lips with hers.

John hesitated for the briefest of seconds before reciprocating gently, his mouth pressing down on hers, easing it open. He felt their tongues once again tango with each other. He could feel the shivers running up and down his back like he had just stepped into a cold shower, he knew from her shivers and where his hands were perched on her sides that she was feeling the same sort of sensations.

"Kate..." He wanted her permission before they went all the way. He had to. He would never hurt her with something that she thought she wanted but really didn't.

"Don't, John."

That was answer enough for him. He stroked her cheek tenderly with his strong hand, their eyes meeting before he gently laid her flat on her back before balancing his weight on his elbows before bowing his head to capture her sweet lips again. She wrapped a shaking hand around his neck, pulling him even closer. He could hear her labored breath beneath his own and feel the quick, uneven stutters of her heart as they continued to kiss.

His fingers gently roamed over her shoulder, before they came into contact with the spaghetti strap of her light tank top. His thumb smoothed it down and off her before he repeated the same steps on the other side. She was beautiful, but it was more than sex for him-it was the fact that, for once, he could relax. The kids were safe, he knew that, and for once he had an excuse to just enjoy himself for the night.

She ran her fingers up his chest, making little circular patterns before her lips found his again and they sank into peaceful oblivion beneath the covers.

When John awoke the next morning, he gazed over at the sleeping Kate. Her hair was messy, and her bed looked like a tornado had just gone through it. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, careful not to overdue it with his still recovering body.

"Morning..." she mumbled, still halfway in the throes of sleep. She opened one bleary eye and watched as he went around the room picking up his discarded clothing and slipping them gingerly back on.

"Morning. I have to go."

No. This was too soon. She sat up, all pretenses of sleep gone as she watched him button up his shirt and slip on his leather coat.

"What?"

"Back to my sons," he prompted. "I-I'll keep in touch." He knew that was a lie and he knew from the expression on her face that she knew it, too. She sighed sadly as she threw the covers aside and walked slowly over to him, she let one finger linger on his chin before giving him the full package: She let the kiss last a second or two longer than she thought she should have, but she couldn't help herself-if this was truly going to be the last time she saw him, she wanted to have a lasting image in her mind.

"Here." She accepted the slip of paper that he gave her. "This is my number. If you need anything ever, don't hesitate."

She nodded.

_Two Months Later_

* * *

"We can always talk about abortion," the stone-faced, grey-haired doctor said sadly as he watched his young patient read the results of her pregnancy test. "It will be painless for both you and the fetus growing-"

Kate swallowed back the tears that were threatening to overspill onto the desk. She shook her head, how could she even consider getting an abortion? The word sounded wrong and dirty on her lips and she knew that she would never choose to snuff out the life that was growing inside of her now. She would never make the baby pay for a mistake that she had made.

It was only one time! A voice screamed inside her head. But she should have known better. After all, her school had made her sit through those embarrassing sex ed videos, she should have known but, as per usual, she let her emotions cloud her judgment.

"No. Absolutely not!" Her voice grew in pitch as the thought of her baby being killed ran through her mind; she could already feel the maternal feelings of protectiveness course through her veins as she glared at the well-meaning doctor.

"Very well. Do you have someone you can call? Perhaps the baby's father?"

She shook her head. "No. He's long gone."

This was good, she reminded herself. This way, she hadn't lost John completely. She still had him-in some small way, she had a piece of him in the growing baby inside of her. Whether or not, the baby turned out to be a boy or girl, he or she would know that they were loved and that they were wanted.

"Oh, John," she murmured softly. She wondered what he would do if she called him and told him. She knew that it was wrong to tie him down to her when it was obvious that he had other concerns in his life, what with his two boys and the job that he swore he could never leave for her.

She dialed the number with trembling fingers. She waited, knowing that the longer the phone rang, the chances of him answering were slim. When the answering machine came on, she hung up the phone. She had tried. She had tempted fate, telling herself that if he answered, she would tell him everything, but if he didn't, she would take that as a sign that it wasn't meant to be, and that she would just do the best she could and raise this baby the best she could.

She had no choice.

* * *

_What did you all think? For some odd reason, the fact that John had this whole relationship with this woman based on one night in the ER when he was hurt hunting the ghouls, fascinated me ever since I watched "Jump the Shark" and that mainly inspired "At Last" and this companion piece to that story. I wanted their to be something there between them than just a one-night stand type of relationship; I wanted their to be a mutual attraction between them, since obviously, in the show, she loved him enough to have a photo of him on her nightstand and there were photos of them all over her place. _

_Okay, thank you to my super-ninja Mom who helped out a little with this story. If you want to know how I got into writing, look no further than my Mom. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this little peek into Kate and John's relationship! _

_Reviews are my like a drug to me so hit that shiny new blue Review button and give me some love if you feel so inclined_


	2. Phone Call

"Damn it." John looked down at his cell phone at the one missed call, at the one number that flashed up at him through the tiny cellular screen. His heart skipped a beat; he had never expected to hear from her again—ever. Seeing Kate's number flashing up at him along with the text that informed him that he had a missed call made his mind come up with all sorts of dizzying, worrying thoughts that mostly made his addled brain even _more _addled.

He hesitated for the briefest of seconds before pressing the redial button; his heart hammering, wondering if maybe something had gotten her, no that wouldn't be possible. How could the demons have known-

"John?"

"Kate?"

He could hear papers rustling in the background and wondered if it was perhaps bills or work related paperwork.

"I-I-" he could her take a deep breath. "I didn't expect you to call me back."

"I'm sorry about that. Remember when I told you that I worked as a mechanic?"

He couldn't obviously see it, but he could almost envision the small nod of her head like she was trying to figure something out. It was just too damn cute. He waited for her to respond, the pen he was holding absently tapping out a tune on the console of the Impala as he sat parked at one of the few traffic lights in Blue Earth, Minnesota.

"I need to talk to you."

John chuckled. "Well, that's what phones are for." He knew that something else was going on, and it was just his stubborn brain that refused to admit it. Now, he was more than just scared, he was _freaked out_.

"John," she said insistantly.

"Kate, just tell me what it is. Are you hurt? Has someone hurt you?"

_In my line of work, anything is possible,_he thought with dread. It seemed to take Kate an eternity to answer his simple question—it was an eternity too long as far as he was concerned. He bridged the pinch of his nose as he thought of why she was being so incredibly secretive with him.

"No, no," she said quickly, rushing to reassure him. "Its just. Um, I found out yesterday that I'm-"

"You're what?"

_Hell no. _

"I'm pregnant."

_Okay, this isn't bad; its better than her being maimed from some demonic attack, its better than the alternative, _the Jiminy Cricket-like voice beat into his subconscious, because right then and there, his heart was pounding a million miles a minute and his palms were sweaty on the steering wheel, causing them to slip and slide.

"Are you okay?" He finally asked, knowing that he sounded like absolute hell now that she had thrown the worst kind of surprise at him.

"I'm not sure."

"Are you okay? Is...is the baby okay?"

"Yeah," he could definitely sense the small smile that had appeared on her lips. Kate was a kind person, so why wouldn't she be a naturally excited expectant mother? Even if the pregnancy had thrown her for a loop. "Heartbeat is strong. The doctor thinks I'm about two and a half months along."

_Damn. Damn. Damn. Throwing a new baby into the mix was not something I antipated. _

John knew what the right thing to do was. He knew that he could never just leave Kate alone to deal with this new baby when it was both of their responsibility, when it took two of them to get to this point in their lives.

Mary, she would be absolutely disgusted if she even knew that he was _considering _turning his back on Kate now. He could almost hear her voice inside his mind:

"John Eric Winchester, you got this girl into this position, now you march your ass back to Minnesota and you do right by her and this baby, and for crying out loud, give this kid a fighting chance without all this fighting evil and weapons training bull you've put on our boys. Let me go, John and focus on your new family!"

Yup. He definitely could hear Mary saying that to him, almost as if she was speaking the words from beyond. She had been nothing if not traditional and she would have wanted him to give his all to his "new family". What could that even mean? Family was nothing to him without Mary in the equation, that was part of the reason why he had packed the boys up and had committed his family to this suicidal mission of his.

He didn't _know _how to live without Mary; all he knew was continuing to fight the evil that surrounding him and his boys, his quest for revenge was all-consuming and he knew that he had become a shitty father the last seven years.

Maybe this would be his chance to do right by his boys, finally. And most definitely give his new baby boy or girl a hell of a lot better upbringing than he had given Sam since he was just a tiny baby.

"Kate, just calm down. I'm coming. I promise. I'm coming as soon as I pack my boys up."

"Okay," she agreed in a shaky face. "We have a lot to talk about, John."

_Boy do we ever._


	3. Unexpected Complication

He drove through the winding, rainy streets of Blue Earth, grateful that, for once, things seemed to be going his way. He was only a few miles from Kate's apartment and he planned on asking Jim to keep Sam and Dean a few more days so he could figure things out with Kate.

Problem was explaining that to an insistent eleven-year-old and an almost seven-year-old. He pulled into the winding driveway of Jim's place that honestly felt like it stretched for miles without stopping. When he finally _did _manage to reach the front door and was allowed entrance by the friendly, well-meaning pastor, he allowed Jim to steer him into his private office with the assurances that Sam and Dean were safely playing outside with Caleb.

"What's on your mind, John?"

Jim. Ever the beacon of light and calm in the storm of confusion and confliction that was raging through his brain a million miles an hour. It was almost painful to sort out the feelings in his head; part of the reason why he had come to the pastor in the first place.

"I need to leave the boys with you for a few more days." Best to start out simple, gradually build up to the reason, to _why. _

Jim shrugged, obviously confused as to why John had insisted on talking to him in private for that.

"Of course, John. You know they're always welcome here. Now why don't you tell me what's _really _on your mind. Procrastination is not an attractive quality in the human race."

John had to scoff at that. It was _so _Jim. He lived his life by such a strict moral code that sometimes John felt like a weak sinner under Jim, who constantly preached to him about accepting what is and accepting the hand that God had dealt him. He remembered one time, the only time that he and Jim had really fought and it was over John easing up on the boys—on Dean. He told John that Dean deserved a normal childhood and that Sam was not his responsibility.

He remembered the indignation that had coursed through his veins at that one, seemingly innocent, common sense observation, remembered packing the boys up and heading to their next best refuge: Bobby Singer's salvage yard.

Now, none of that mattered. If he had been told seven years ago that he was actually considering retiring from active hunting in order to help a woman that he had met briefly in the hospital, and who had invited him into her home where he had proceeded to get her pregnant, he woul have laughed in their faces.

That was then.

This was now.

"I got a girl pregnant."

This obviously wasn't what Jim had expected to hear from the younger hunter. He gazed intently at John, he sometimes wondered if Jim was hoping to see into the very depths of his soul with that penatrating gaze of his.

"Who is it?"

"A nurse I met in the hospital when the damn ghoul decided to try to skin me alive."

"Do you feel something for her?"

_Damn, are we really going to psycho-anaylze how I feel about her? _

He gave a short, humorless laugh. "Obviously if I'm sitting here pouring my heart out to you like a friggin' girl."

"Doe she have anyone else?"

John shook his head. "No. Her parents are long gone and-" he tapered off, unable to go on any further. "I love her, Jim. She-" _reminds me of Mary _that voice screamed in his head. "She's the first girl since Mary that I felt such an instant connection to."

_Damn it! He wasn't ready to let go of Mary. How could he? She was his first love, the mother of his two amazing, beautiful children. _

"Well, you know what you must do, right?"

John nodded. He knew; the problem was getting there.

"Mary would want you to move on with your life, John. She never would have approved of you taking the boys on these missions, she would want you to settle down with another woman and have the nice family that you've always-"

"I don't care about that, Jim."

"Yes, you do. And it sounds to me like this woman is the perfect option for you if you're talking about her so highly, she must be a pretty neat girl."

"She is."

"You go and I'll take care of the boys for however long you need."

"Thank you."

* * *

Thankfully, Kate's apartment was only a few miles down the street from Jim's place. He parked the Impala in one of the few empty spaces, thinking it was slightly odd that the parking lot would be so full in the middle of a working day.

He took the elevator up to the fourth floor where she lived at the very end of the hall. He knocked twice on the door, thinking of how surreal this situation was, how out of left field it was. He never thought he would be making a return trip to this place.

"Kate? It's me, John," he called when he received no answer. Had she decided not to let him in? Had she decided to just rough it out on her own?

"Kate?"

_Was she hurt? Had someone hurt-_

At that moment, the lock clicked and the door swung open. John's momentary relief at seeing Kate seemingly alive and alright, only lasted the space of a nano-second when he saw the pure look of devastation on her face, saw the way her hair was sweaty and stuck to her forehead, he saw the way she was looking at him with panic marring her features.

"Are you okay?"

_Stupid question, Winchester._

She shook her head.

"Kate, tell me. What is it?"

He knew this was a slightly personal conversation to have in the doorway to her apartment, anyone could walk by and see them, but he couldn't care less. He just wanted to make sure that she was okay, and right now the odds were looking extremely doubtful.

"I've been having spotting."

"Spotting?" He repeated blankly. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Bleeding, John. I've been having bleeding, as in-"

"No, no I know. I know."

_Oh, no. No, no, no!_

He knew what that meant without having to be a woman. Bleeding, nine times out of ten signified the end of the pregnancy, the fact that she had lost her baby.

"We need to get to a hospital," John said, snapping out of his tortured thoughts and gently taking her hand and pulling her the rest of the way out the door. "Come on," he tried to keep his voice calm and not freak her out anymore than she already was, but it was hard.

"J-J-John the door. You have to lock the door," her voice was shaking so badly she could barely form a coherent sentence. "K-k-keys on the coffee table."

"Okay, alright." He tore back into the apartment, grabbed her keys, locked the door and thrust them into his pocket. He was grateful that Kate's apartment had an elevator in it so they would't have to mess around with stairs.

Kate's hand was clamped around her stomach as if she thought that by doing that, she would be able to stop what was happening, be able to keep the baby alive and inside of her.

"When did it start?" John asked once they were in his car. "Give me a general timeline."

"Just get to the hospital," she cried. "Now!" She added with renewed furor. "If we catch it in time we might be able to stop it," broken sobs started wracking her body. "I don't understand..."

John was suddenly very grateful that he had decided to leave Sam and Dean at Jim's, how in the name of all that is holy was he supposed to lug two children into the hospital with a hysterical woman? They would have made quite the circus show.

"Kate, it'll be fine. I mean it. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together," he said quietly, glancing over at her and seeing the broken-hearted look on her face. He had no idea what his own face looked like, but he hoped it nowhere near resembled Kate's.

"O-okay."

He inched the speed a little further, ignoring the fact that he was now going over ten miles over the speed limit. He didn't care. His baby might be dying and they needed to get to a hospital.

* * *

Once they actually managed to make into a room at the hospital, the doctor there, immediately took her to the ultrasound room. John was struck by how pale she looked under the intense gaze of the flourescent lighting.

He was allowed to go into the room with her, which he was intenstly grateful for. They laid her on the table and spread the gel over her stomach. John held her hand tightly in his, his other hand rubbing her arm as he kissed her hand, hoping to convey with these touches that everything would be okay, no matter the outcome of the ultrasound.

"You're about ten weeks pregnant?" The Ultrasound technician asked, smoothing the gel over her stomach. It felt cold and sticky on her stomach. She clung tighter to John's hand, drawing strength from his strong touch, grateful that she wasn't dealing with this alone, that she had John there. Just the fact that he had shown up spoke volumes to her, the fact that he had chosen to call her back and choose to come back.

"Yes," she took a deep breath, glancing at John who nodded encouragingly, his face grim. "Approximately."

"Okay, when did you notice the bleeding?"

She glanced at John, just feeling slightly uncomfortable to be talking about something so personal in front of him, especially considering the fact that she barely even knew him. The last time she had seen him was almost three months ago, right before she knew that she was pregnant.

"It's okay," John said softly, he smiled comfortingly, trying to make her relax. "Just tell him. It doesn't phase me."

"I noticed a little this morning and then a lot about an hour later after I got out of the shower."

"Okay," the technician said, "before that any spotting?"

Kate shook her head.

"Well," he paused. "Right now," he moved the mover on her stomach up a little bit, focusing on the screen in front of him to guide him. "Here's the heart and there is a beat."

"There is? Are you sure?" Kate said, feeling slightly light-headed from the rush of emotions that were clouding her head. "Really?" She whispered, sounding almost disbelieving.

"Really. Sometimes there can be spotting right in th beginning of a pregnancy—its uncommon but not something that can be explained, either. You were smart to come in, though and it is something that we will be keeping an eye on as you go through your pregnancy."

* * *

**Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. Enjoy this chapter!**


	4. Breaking the news and introductions

Once the scare with the baby was over; John knew that he had to tell Sam and Dean about their new brother or sister, and more importantly tell them how things would soon be changing for them. He knew that Sam would most likely be thrilled with the idea of being "normal" but Dean was a different matter; Dean was of the same mind as John was when it came to killing the demon. He knew it would be slightly harder to convince Dean that this would be a good thing.

"Let's stop someplace," John cheerfully suggested. "Sam, Dean, you want to go inside McDonalds? Have a burger and talk?"

"Um...okay," Dean said, "sure. What is this all about?"

John shrugged, lifting one shoulder. "Just thought we could sit down someplace for once and just talk."

"Have you been possessed by something?" Dean asked, laughing darkly at his joke.

"Dean, don't ever joke about something like that," John said seriously. "Never."

"Yes, sir."

Once they were in the restaurant and situated with their food in the back of the room, of course so John could better scope the place out, he set his double cheeseburger down and motioned for Sam and Dean to do the same.

"What is it?" Dean asked, thinking that this had to be the real reason their Dad had insisted on stopping, so he could tell them whatever was on his mind. "Did you find the demon?" Dean had asked nothing else whenever John had to have a family meeting.

His shoulders slumped in disappointment when John shook his head.

"No. Remember a few months ago when I left to go hunt the ghoul in Minnesota?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, you called and said you were in the hospital?"

John nodded.

"I was. While I was there..." he cleared his throat. He was rapidly approaching the point where he would have to tell them about Kate, and he didn't know how the boys would react to their father finding a new woman that he loved; he had no idea how Sam and Dean would take that. "I met this nurse. She helped me get better."

Dean snickered. "Did you guys do the nasty?"

"Dean-" John scolded.

"What's the nasty?" Sam interrupted, errupting into a fit of giggles at the extremely uncomfortable look on John's face. "Is that how-"

"Sam, Dean, just be quiet and listen to me," John said, fighting for patience at this point. He was glad that Sam and Dean seemed to be so amused by this, but he had a feeling that would soon change. "Yes, we...we had a very wonderful night together-"

"That means he did it," Dean whispered to Sam. "Sorry, Dad," he had the good sense to look ashamed when John pointedly glared at him, his fork hovering around his mouth as he glared at his trouble-making son.

"As I was _saying_, we had a wonderful night together but because of what we do," he lowered his voice a fraction of an inch so he wouldn't attract the attention of the other customers who, by some annoying inconvenience all seemed to be seated around them, like the establishment couldn't think to space the tables around a little bit. "I didn't want to hurt her. You can understand that, right?"

Both boys nodded.

"But she...she called me the other day and told me that she had a baby on the way."

"So?" Dean said, completely unfazed by what John had just told him. "She forgot to tell you that or something?"

"Dean," John said slowly, realizing that Dean wasn't getting it at all. "She wasn't with anyone else before me. I'm the father of that baby."

He definitely got it, then. John saw his mouth go slack as he dropped his head to his plate and shifted his foot around with his fork. John glanced at Sam while Dean was getting his emotions together. Sam seemed to be slowly processing this news, but he could see the slow, uncertain grin spread across his face and was relieved that at least one child was okay with this news.

"Sam?"

"So does that mean that we're not going to be living in motel rooms or having to leave in the middle of the school year?"

John smiled and nodded. "That's right. You're going to live in one place for once, and be closer to Pastor Jim, too."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Dean?" He finally decided his son had sulked enough and needed to divulge his feelings to the rest of the table. "What do you think about all of this?"

"Isn't it great, Dean?" Sam said excitely, 'we get to go to school and have friends and have sleepovers and-"

"So because of this slut that you-"

John growled in anger and leaned foreword, his head only inches from Dean's. "Never. Ever call her a slut again. Do you hear me loud and clear, son?"

Dean glared at him but eventually nodded his head slowly. "Sorry."

"Check your tongue before you speak."

"Because of _her_," Dean rephrased, "we're just going to give hunting for the thing that killed _mom_?"

John shook his head. "Not entirely, Dean. I'm not giving up hunting. I'm just not going to do it as often as I did it before, and-"

"But what about me?"

John raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What about you?"

"I want to hunt, Dad. You were just beginning to teach me shoot the Glock, now all that goes to hell-"

"Watch your lanauge," John automatically reprimanded him. "You can still hunt on the weekends and when your schedule allows, but I'm not going to be hunting a lot, anyway, Dean. Its not like you're going to be left back while I go on these daring missions."

"Dean," Sam said, excitedly tugging on Dean's arm to get his attention. "We'll get to have a Mom!"

"No," Dean said shortly, glaring at Sam as if that idea was completely ridiculous and out of the question. "She will never be our mother. Our mother is _dead_," he emphasized. "And we have to find the thing that killed her, Sammy."

"Dean, I've had about enough of your attitude," John said. "I understand that you are upset but that does not give you reason to speak about her with disrespect. Obviously," his tone softened as images of his sweet Mary flashed through his mind, "no one can ever replace your mother and no one ever _will_."

* * *

Needless to say, John thought that the family meeting had gone off quite well; he was grateful for his sudden burst of creativity in breaking the news to them in a public place. Much less chance of Dean having the chance to get truly upset, and less chance for him to let it slip accidentally what they did, even though both of them had flouted those rules accidentally.

"Remember," John said as he pulled up to the apartment. "She doesn't know about hunting. She thinks I got attacked by a bear while I was hunting."

He had no plans to tell Kate about his hunting life, he knew that either she would think he was crazy or she would believe him and would then be terrifed for her life. Either option wasn't even a consideration.

Dean nodded. He scoffed like he couldn't believe this was actually happening. In reality, he couldn't believe that his father could just hook up with a woman and get her pregnant and then move in with her like nothing had ever happened to his Mom.

To his intense surprise, Dean ended up liking Kate. She was nice, warm and friendly. She reminded him of his own mother and she even baked sugar cookies like his Mom had. He felt guilty for the comments he had made about her when he saw what exactly made his dad like her.

"Are you excited to be going to your new school?" She asked as they walked up the walkway to their new home that they were in the process of buying; obviously a two-bedroom apartment was nowhere near big enough for their small family.

"Yeah, it should be nice," Dean smiled, still feeling reserved around her.

Sam, however had no such problems and excitedly started rambling on about how excited he was to make new friends and to be able to go to slumber parties and be invited to partake in clubs and sports.

"That all sounds very exciting. Will you help me with the new baby?"

She wanted to include the boys in their new sibling and, according to John, Dean had practically raised Sam for him on occasion, not that she approved of that but she thought it was nice that Dean thought so much about his little brother.

"Sure," Dean said, none-commitally.

"Of course!" Sam said.

Dean groaned. Sam always had to have the last word.

"Did you hear your Dad got a new job?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah. He's co-manager of that new garage down the street."

"According to him, he's a pretty handy mechanic," Kate laughed, "we'll have to see if he was telling the truth when he sees my car."


	5. Revelations

John thought he would be more antsy, more eager to hunt but he wasn't. He still, of course, felt the need to avenge Mary's death but it didn't consume him like it had previously; now, he could be the type of father that he was to Sam and Dean before the demon had come and ruined everything.

He knew that Kate was a big part of that. She was _normal_, she could give the boys a mother's touch and she was just kind. For the most part, he had been able to field questions about what he did when he wasn't working in the garage but he had a feeling that sooner or later, the ball would drop and he would have to explain to her what it was he did, that the "bear attack" was really a ghoul attack.

"Alright, Dean, I'll be back."

"Okay," Dean said, unconcerned. "Where are you going?"

"Bobby called; vampire nest."

Dean frowned. "I thought there was no such thing?"

John shrugged. "There wasn't supposed to be, hunters were supposed to have cleared them all out but I guess some nests are still around the area."

"So its local?"

John nodded. "Fortunately. Just-I told Kate that I was going to help a friend of mine, but I didn't tell her with what. Okay?"

Dean nodded, already knowing the delicate balance that existed now for John: Hunting when necessary, but trying to keep the truth hidden from Kat. Truth be told, it wasn't a healthy relationship to say the least, with all of John's lying, even though it was necessary, he believed for her safety.

"Alright."

"Dad should be home soon," Dean said around a mouthful of food—homemade pancakes, Kate's specialty. Like virtually every man, the way to his heart was through his stomach and Kate was one fantastic cook.

"Chew with your mouth closed, dude," she gently scolded him. "Yes, he called and said that he just had to settle a few things in Blue Earth and then he would be back."

At that moment, the back door swung open and Kate gasped. John was mostly clean, but there specks of blood that covered his hands and his shirt had dried blood on it in different parts.

"John, what happened to you?" She gasped as her hands hovered over her mouth in horror. "Who did this to you?" She moved closer to him and began running her hands up and down his arms, inspecting him closer for any hidden injuries.

"Kate-"

"Where did all that blood come from?" She demanded, seeing no physical signs of injury, that only further caused her confusion as she swiveled around to stared at Dean who was looking calmly at John as if all this was a perfectly normal, everyday happening. She glared at him, her hands instantly going to her hips as her five months pregnant belly jutted out. She had no idea what was going on or why her boyfriend came home with blood on him but she intended to find out.

"Would you believe me if I told you I got it from the garage?"

She shook her head. "Where. Did. The. Blood. Come. From?" She asked slowly. "It's not yours, there's not a scratch on you," she leveled accusingly. "So where did it come from? You get in some fight? Are you drunk?"

"_What_?" He seemed completely taken aback by her accusation. "No. No! You know I would never-"

"Do I? Because right now, I can only go by what I'm seeing and that's you with blood on your shirt and me with no explanation as to what the _hell _is going on."

_'Oh, shit,' _Dean though, staring at John as Kate backed him into a corner with her accusations flying all over the place. He didn't think John could sweet-talk his way out of this one. The evidence was right there in front of them for the whole world to see. Only for Dean, he knew what had caused the blood spatters: It was from decapitating a vampire head and having its blood spew all over the place.

"Okay, just take a breather and relax-"

"Do not tell me to relax, John Winchester. You tell me what the hell it is right now."

"Just sit down first-"

"No. Tell me!"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

She stared at him. Was he being funny? Because if he was, he had a horrible way of telling a joke. She stared at him uncomprehending as she realized with growing clarity that he was actually being _serious _and expected an answer from her.

"Um...are we talking Casper or-"

He shook his head. "No. Real honest to goodnes ghosts."

"Well," she fumbled for an answer. "My neighbor, he saw a ghost of his-"

"Do. You. Believe. In. Ghosts?"

"No!"

"Well, that's what I was hunting...well, really, I was hunting vampires but they come from the same thing-"

"Vampires?"

"That's how I got the blood on me."

"And you believe him?" She looked back at Dean who was looking at John and Kate as if he was were watching a wrestling match. He didn't seem to be phased by John's answer in the slightest; really, he was looking as if none of this was news to him at all.

"Yeah..." Dean said slowly. "What killed our Mom was a demon and after that, Dad started hunting the thing that killed her."

"A demon?" She repeated dubiously. "Are you insane?"

John shook his head slowly, his heart thundering against his ribs. "Trust me, I wish I were. Kate, I would take you on a hunt with me to prove myself but its too dangerous. You just have to believe me, Kate," he said desperately.

"Believe you?" She said incredulously. "How the hell am I supposed to believe _that_? Now, if you were to tell me that you got the blood from some drunken loon that punched you a few good times, then we'd talk, but demons? Ghosts?" She shook her head. "This is insane."

He shook his head, feeling completely helpless as he watched her panicked face. He hadn't meant to come home like he had, but it was unavoidable, he had no other way to change and the vampire cleanup had been messy to say the least.

"Look at my face, Kate." He waited the heartbreaking few seconds until she lifted her head to look into his eye; what he saw nearly broke his heart: Kate was looking at him with such shock and distrust in her eyes, like this was her worst nightmare. "Tell me if I'm lying," he said desperately. "I would never lie to you, honey. Believe that, please."

She shook her head in disbelief at the swift turn of events her night had taken; she had gone from being elated to seeing John to being horrified at his state, to being angered and shocked that he would expose her to these lies of his—obviously the workings of a seriously deranged mind that had gone insane from grieving his wife.

"You are asking me to believe something so horrible and so-"

"I know," he quickly interrupted. "But you know those ghost movies? Its just that those movies are rooted in actual fact, but most of 'em have them dead wrong on the facts, but they're all real, Kate. The reason I didn't tell you before was because I didn't want you hurt because the people I love tend to get hurt when they're exposed to this."

"John, if you're lying-"

"Kate, I swear on our _baby's _life that I am not lying to you."

Her hands unconsciously flitted to her stomach when he mentioned their baby, and she knew then. She knew that as unrealistic and as unreal this whole night had turned out to be, she knew that he had to be telling the truth and that something really _was _out there and really _had _hurt him.

"At least let me look-"

He held up his hands to stop her approach, a teasing smile on his face. "No need, Dr. Kate. I'm fine. Really," he added when he saw the doubtful look on her face. "I just got some blood on me from chopping off that vamps head."

She grimaced and held up her hands. "Need to know only, please."

He nodded slowly. "Deal."


	6. Time

**(Thanks to my most loyal reviewer, JellyWinchester for one, revewing and two, for suggesting that I continue with this story even though I was slightly hesitant to do so) **

John _thought _he'd be prepared for the day that Kate went into labor; thought being the operative word. He had done it all: Gone to the lamaze classes at the hospital, gone to every single parenting class that Kate insisted on dragging him to, even though he knew what the hell he was talking about she still felt comfortable having him with her and having him experience it with her.

But like with Sam and Dean, the instuctors and the meditation experts could spout them with as much crap as they wanted to, but John knew better. Having Mary go through the very definition of hell giving birth to his two sons, proved that these so-called "experts" really had no idea what it was _actually _like until they had popped out a kid themselves.

Each baby was different, each pregnancy a different endgame. For some mothers, they went into labor and five hours later they had themselves a little pink, wailing munchkin in their arms, each hour smooth sailing from start to finish. But in typical Winchester fashion, that didn't quite happen:

Kate had been having Braxton Hicks contractions off and on throughout the morning and afternoon of September the twenty-ninth—she knew what was happening. She had been warned about these false labor pains by her friends at the hospital who were already mothers and knew what they were talking about. They told her that it was quite frankly, her body's way of preparing her for labor and delivery.

That thought both comforted and scared her.

She had grilled John about the birthing process, knowing that he had gone through it twice before with Mary. He told her that each woman was different, but she noticed, he skimmed over the most important question: How bad it was.

He told her that Mary had been in labor for close to twenty-hours with Dean and close to eighteen with Sam and that each labor almost resulted in a C-section that had been thankfully avoided at the last minute by the baby's timely arrival. He told her that odds are, she would be in labor for awhile since first babies were historically harder than second or third babies.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked, seeing Kate cleaning dishes but then wince as another pain hit her abdomen. He watched her concerned as she nodded her head stiffly. She had been feeling these pains all afternoon off and on. She was just thankful that it wasn't the real deal; she wasn't ready. John wasn't there—he was at work at the garage he part-owned and her sister, who was the designated babysitter for Sam and Dean, wasn't in town until later that night.

"I'm fine, Dean. The baby is just acting up."

"Oh." He didn't sound entirely convinced but he let the matter drop as he made himself a before-dinner snack. The sweet smell of pasta that perfumed the air soon washed away both of their concerns as they set the table and laughed with John who had come home with a hilarious story involving a pissed off customer and an equally pissed off boss.

It was later in the night that the real action started. It seemed that their baby had no qualms about making his grand entrance in the middle of the night. Kate had been up off and on for several hours since going to bed with John around ten-thirty. She didn't know why she was feeling so anxious and so antsy but she attributed it to the fact that her Braxton Hicks hadn't eased up and now, more than ever, they felt like mild menstrual cramps than anything; but she tried not to bother John. She didn't want to wake him unless it was absolutely necessary. John was a heavy sleeper and always slept until the last possible moment, and he was no exeption tonight. She glanced over at him and saw that he was sleeping on his back, arm tucked behind his head, other arm draped lazily across his stomach as the sounds of his deep breathing filled the otherwise quiet room.

She tip-toed back to her side and carefully crawled back under the covers, fully aware that she might very soon be getting back up if another bout of anxiety hit her. She breathed slowly, trying to rid herself of these damn anxiety feelings; they weren't helping her and they were frankly very annoying to have.

She clenched her jaw together with an audible _snap _when the pain in her stomach, instead of getting better, got worse. She felt it almost like a dial that was being slowly pushed up, making the pain gradually worse as she lay there in her bed. She glanced at her alarm clock and saw that it was only two-thirty in the morning.

She shook her head. Knowing her luck and knowing Winchester luck, this baby would naturally decide to come out _now_. She tried not to panic, though. Tried not to assume that she was in the beginning stages of labor; after all, her doctor had told her she would be experiencing a multitude of symptoms that she hadn't yet experienced yet.

It was when she felt the slow gush of fluid leaking out of her that all pretenes of trying to appear cool and not panicked flew out the window. It shocked her, for one, and two, almost like a cruel, sadistic timer, the pain in her stomach ratcheted up a notch and it took all of her self-control not to cry out in pain.

"John," she whispered, leaning over to shake him away. "John," she shook him again. He didn't budge except to draw the covers tighter over himself. She could have hit him. "John!" She said in a louder whisper, thinking that she might very well pass out from the pain she was in even though she knew that wasn't possible, she still felt like it was.

He blinked one eye open as he stared at his very pregnant girlfriend. "Wha-" he started sleepily, his mind not really connecting with the fact that his girlfriend was hovering over him and also not connecting the fact that she looked like she was on the verge of passing out.

"My water broke," she whispered painfully. "John, did you-"

"I know," he responded calmly. He been through this twice before; he knew what the stages were, he knew how to be calm whereas Kate did not. That was one advantage of this whole deal: Instead of both parents being incoherent, nervous wrecks, one parent already had gone through this and was an expert compared to Kate.

He swung the covers back, noticing the odorless, colorless stain on the pale pink sheets they had. He had seen it before with Mary so it didn't phase him as much as it should have. He went around to Kate's side of the bed. She was sitting up, her legs slung over the side of the bed.

"How far apart are the contractions?"

"About twenty minutes."

He kneeled down in front of her, placing both hands on over hers as she continued to breathe in deeply, trying anything to gain control over the pain that was slowly assaulting her body. She moaned loudly and leaned over, her head between her knees.

"It's okay," John soothed. "It'll be over soon. We can wait until they're ten minutes apart or we can go now. It's up to you, sweetie."

He rubbed her back as she continued the deep breathing techniques that she had been taught in prenatal classes.

"Wait," she finally said. She moaned again and buried her head in John's shoulder, drawing strength from his strong, unmovable presence as he rubbed her back, his hand moving around in slow circles, trying his best to comfort her through nature's course.

"Okay."

She got up, then, moving into the bathroom. John hesitated but then followed after her. When he entered their master bathroom, he saw her filling up the tub with luke warm water and slowly undressing before gingerly stepping over the side and sinking down into the comforting water.

"Call Lex and get her over here," she glanced at John as she swirled the water around her. "They're getting..." she tapered off abruptly as another contraction wave hit her with unrelenting, unforgiving force. "They're getting stronger," she gasped.

"Are you going to be okay while I call her?"

She nodded. "Yes."

When he returned to the bathroom after calling her sister, he found that Kate had gotten out and was slowly getting dressed in the silk white maternity shirt and black slacks that she had taken to wearing around the house lately. He had thrown on his green USMC shirt and plain jeans as he studied her carefully controlled movements.

"Alexis is going to be here soon."

"Good."


	7. Happy Birthday

"Hey," Kate's sister, Alexis said softly, appearing in the doorway to their bedroom. "How are things going in here?" She set her purse and pillow that she had brought on the rocking chair that was in the corner of the bedroom and went over to the bed where Kate and John were. "How are you doing, sis?"

"Bad," Kate moaned, squeezing her eyes shut as another pain wave assaulted her already beaten body. "Thanks for coming." She managed to look up at Alexis gratefully. "Really appreciate it."

Alexis scoffed as if the mention personally offended her. "Don't be ridiculous! Anything I can do to help you two out." She kneeled down beside Kate and touched her knee briefly. "How far apart are the contractions?"

"About ten minutes."

"We better get going," John said quietly. He stood up, groaning as the muscles in his legs protested against the change of position; hunting definitely had its cons when his legs were treating him like he was sixty instead of barely forty. He grasped Kate by both hands and helped her to her feet, steadying her with one hand on the small of her back before letting her walk under her own steam.

"Thanks again, Lex," he said gratefully as he grabbed the hospital bag they had packed a few days before. "Um, in case you don't want to sleep-" he motioned at the aminotic fluid that was staining the sheets. "In that, there's a guest room you can take over."

"Don't worry—I'll figure it out. You two just go and get that baby on the road."

* * *

The drive there was peaceful and strangely relaxing to Kate, but she knew that this would be the last "peaceful" moment either of them had for the foorseeable future. Luckily the hospital was only a few miles from their house and they were able to get there before her contractions got any closer together and she was in real trouble. She marveled at their luck at choosing a house that was coincidentally close to their chosen hospital.

Once she and John had made it into the hospital and had instantly gotten a room to themselves in the labor and delivery section, the grandmotherly nurse handed her the standard-issue pale green hospital robe to put on. Kate had always hated these "robes"; she didn't even consider them to be robes because normal robes tied at the front and were easy to control, but hospital robes tied at the back and were easy to become askew and fall off her shoulders or get tangled in the hospital blankets.

"Tie this," Kate said, coming out of the small bathroom in her room and turning so her back faced John. He chuckled softly at her sour expression and quickly tied the thin strings together and helped her into the hospital bed. She was relieved to be lying down, especially because the contractions were getting worse.

"You feeling okay?" John asked softly, his thumb idly running over her wrist in a comforting gesture. He was seated next to her in the small recliner the hospital provided along with a well-used love seat; he wondered how many fathers and mothers had used this furniture before.

She nodded, her eyes closed. "Hmm."

"Painful?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you want something for it?"

She blinked one eye open. "Wait until it gets really bad."

"You only have a certain window where you can take the epidural," he gently reminded her. "If you want to take it, probably be best to take it now just to get it out of the way."

She hesitated; she had always known she would get an epidural for pain mangement but she thought she would have more time to process it and have time to think it through, but her body was once again telling her who was boss and was telling her that it wouldn't wait for her mind to process anything.

"Okay."

John nodded and immediately stood up and left their room briefly to go fetch a nurse or doctor who could help them. When he returned, he returned with the same grandmotherly nurse that had helped them from the beginning. She walked over to Kate and checked her vitals, making a note of it in her chart that was held in a little metal holder on the end of her bed.

"Okay, you want the epidural, I hear?" She laughed softly. "That little man giving you problems?"

Kate smiled weakly. "You could say that."

She was afraid of needles; she had no idea why really. She had been around them for years as nurse and had injected them into countless patients but somehow the idea of a needle being injected into her spine scared her, even though she trusted the nurse doing it and trusted that she knew what she was doing, she was still scared of the unknown in this case.

The nurse and John helped her into a sitting position and had her facing John with her legs slung over the side of the bed. The nurse swabbed her back before unwrapping the needle from its protective pack and getting it ready.

The foreplay was what really bugged Kate; she just wanted to get the show on the road and never have to worry about this again. She exhaled deeply, trying to reign in her frayed emotions which were already being brought to the very brink by the fact that she had been in labor for close to six hours and hadn't had any relief up until that point.

"Okay, I'm going to start now," she warned, "just so there isn't any nasty surprises."

Kate was grateful for the advance warning. She buried her head in John's shoulder and drew strength and comfort from his strong, sure hand running through her hair, smoothing it gently from side to side. She knew that he could sense her nervousness; he was incredibly intuitive when it came to her and her emotions and which moods she was in.

"You doing okay, baby girl?" He whispered just loud enough that she could hear him clearly but also low enough so that it felt like to hear they were having a private conversation, even though a nurse was standing just feet from her preparing to inject a needle into her back.

"Y-yeah," she replied back, surprised at the slight wavor in her voice. "I just want to get him out."

He laughed softly, the act making his chest vibrate with the sound of his deep voice. She could feel it vibrate through his shoulder where her head was currently at. "I do, too."

When the needle plunged into her back, Kate's first instinct was to shy away from the thing that was hurting her, but two factors contributed to her doing the exact opposite: One, she knew that John was there and would never let anyting happen to her and two, she knew the pain was only momentary and would soon be over and blissful relief from the contractions would take its place.

"There, all done."

Kate gratefully sank back into bed with a slight huff of pain as her stomach drew in another painful contraction, seemingly to tease her before they gratefully abided.

* * *

She had a few welcome hours of rest, where she took all the rest she could. She slept like a baby, despite the early morning sun seeping in through the room. When she blinked one eye open, she could see John reclined in the recliner beside her bed, a blanket drawn across from him. It seemed to her that he was catching rest when she did, so he wouldn't miss anything and not be there for her.

She knew she was blessed to have such a caring and supportive fiancee. They had gotten engaged the previous month and planned on making it official in the spring or summer when their baby was older. She glanced down at the simple ring with a rush of happiness and contentment. She knew that this pain would only last momentarily, but her happiness with John and this baby would last forever.

That was then.

This was now.

She was fully dialated and finally ready to push the baby out. It had all happened so fast: One minute, her doctor was checking her and the next he was declaring her full dialated and ready to begin the process of pushing her baby out.

John and the nurse helped her position her feet into the stirups that the hospital put together so her feet would be out of the way of the doctors and nurses who would pull the baby out. Her first real big push, she thought like her back would break with the pressure on it from sitting up and pushing—she felt like something would break. John's hand on the back of her head made sure that she didn't fall back against the pillows and give up, even though she wanted to so badly.

"We have a problem," her OBGYN announced. It was his job to remain professional, even though his demeanor contrasted sharply with the words that had just left his mouth. "Whenever you push, your baby's heart rate drops, and right now its dropped below a certain level that we're not comfortable with."

"Okay," John said blankly, tightly clutching Kate's hand. "There are drugs, right?"

"Unfortunately, that's not an option this late in the game. We're going to have to move and perform a c-section."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'm afraid so."

* * *

John was allowed in the room for the procedure but had to wait outside the room while they prepped her. When they finally gave him the scrubs and mask he would have to wear and showed him into the room, she was already laid out on the table, curtain drawn in front of her so she couldn't see what was going on.

He sank down into the stool that one of the nurses provided for him and stroked Kate's face with his thumb. He noticed that her arms had been strapped down and noticed the look of fear in her eyes at being in such a confining position. His heart melted for her as he kissed the top of her head.

"You're going to be fine," he whispered. "You hear me?"

She nodded. "I-I know."

"In a minute we're going to be holding our beautiful little boy."

She smiled weakly at that.

"I'm scared."

"Don't be. These guys are the real deal; they know what they're doing, beautiful."

"I'm scared of the pain."

"Kate," one of the doctors spoke this time. "If you feel any pain during the procedure, then just let us know and we're just adjust your dose. It won't be any problem for us so don't be shy about that. I just want to let you know that feeling pressure is completely normal so don't mistake that for pain, okay?"

Kate nodded. "Okay."

With that, the doctors and nurses in the room began the procedure. John stayed seated beside Kate's head, providing much needed comfort and support as she anxiously waited for her baby to finally be born.

"It feels like the devil and God are playing tug of war with my insides," she laughed once though it came out as slightly hysterical.

"Probably means they're getting close," John said, his hand running through her hair.

The words had no sooner left his mouth than the sweetest sound reached his ears: The sound of the doctors pulling his son out and hearing his first cries.

The nurse that had been handed him, instantly took the baby over to John and Kate so they could catch their first glimpse of him.

"He's perfect," Kate whispered, "happy birthday, baby."


	8. Chapter 8: Hunt

John couldn't honestly remember being _this _tired since he'd first brought Sam home from the hospital. The nighttime feedings, the nighttime diaper changings, not to mention the added double whammy of semi-regular telephone calls from his contacts who just _begged _him to come check out a case they had all but given up on. It could be for something _completely _ridiculous: A vengeful spirit possessing his mother's Toyota and making it crash into a poor pedestrian, or it could be for something a little more violent; like, say, a werewolf or a banshee (that was a new one) or his personal favorite: a nice, big family army of ghouls.

He shook his head out of amusement; hunters wanted what they wanted: They wanted the big kill, they wanted to save whatever damsel in distress they could, and yeah, John was like that, too but he sure as hell wouldn't be calling someone at three 'o clock in the morning, or calling someone during a very messy (and wet) bathtime. Granted, that wasn't really _their _fault but it was still annoying to have your chest and shoulders dripping wet with splashed water, wrangle a squirming baby out of the water and wrap one of those cutsy frog towels around his tiny form—you know, the ones with the frog head hoody and the hideous green, puke colored fabric.

Today, he was in such a predicament: He was trying to get Adam out of his portable baby tub, but Adam at four months old was proving to be as much of a handful as Dean was at that age; Adam thought it was completely hilarious to splash water around with his tiny hands and kick his feet around, which, of course, caused most of the water to fly around the space they were in and splash John. John, luckily, had learned his lesson from previous horrors and had opted to go shirtless for this latest bathing session.

It was evening, after dinner. John and Kate had slowly begun to introduce solid food to Adam's formula diet—small things like single-grain rice cereal that Kate actually made herself and other things like apple sauce and baby food. Kate had already headed off to work for her night shift, leaving John to fix a late dinner for the boys, himself and Adam.

"Daddy, its uncle Bobby," Sam said, running into the room with the phone held in his outstretched hand. He seemed completely oblivious to the struggle that John was having with Adam as John accepted the phone from him. John watched as Sam ran back into the living room, intent on playing a game of Go Fish with Dean.

He sighed deeply as he balanced the phone and balanced Adam. He tied the strings on the baby robe around Adam so he wouldn't kick it off and catch a cold. Adam seemed to share none of his concerns and happily sucked on a teething ring that John placed in his hands.

"Yeah, Bobby?" He said after several seconds. "What's going on?" This was unusual; Bobby out of all the people he was aquainted with, knew how busy he was. He had still maintained his tight friendship with Bobby, and saw him as much as he could, so he knew that, most likely, Bobby wouldn't be calling him unless there was a serious, end of the world problem on his hands.

"Sorry to bother you, John." And he _did _sound guilty. "I tried calling Caleb and Jim but they're all busy with cases of their own, but this one is a messy one otherwise I wouldn't have bothered calling you."

"What is it?"

"A friend of mine—a hunter, he's gone missing. Last anyone ever saw of him, he was at his work and-"

"Where does he work?"

"At Shell Gast station, right near my place."

"Is there any sulfur at his place or at the gas station?"

He picked up Adam when it became obvious that he wouldn't lie still. John did this often, and it was actually pretty easy: He carefully shifted Adam so that he was lying in the crook of his arm as he gently rocked him. Adam instantly relaxed, but became curious at the curious object attached to his daddy's head and reachd out his tiny hands to try to grab it.

This wouldn't work.

"Hold on, Bobby. Dean!" He called. He waited until Dean had appeared before issuing his next set of instructions. "Take your brother into the living room and put him in his car seat." He carefully handed Adam to Dean and nodded his approval when he saw Dean instantly put his hand under Adam's head and carefully take him out to the living room.

"Yeah, now what, Bobby?"

"I was just saying that there was a small trace amount of sulfur in his office. I don't know what it could be, usually there are more clues but-"

"I know," John interjected. "Its in Sioux Falls?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'll-" he looked at the clock as he spoke. It was almost nine 'o clock. Kate stil had several more hours of work left to complete before she came home. "I'll drop off the kids with Kate's sister and I'll meet you at your place."

"Sounds good, John. I appreciate this. Sorry about this."

"Nah. It's not your fault that some demon monster decided to spring an attack like this."

He hung up the phone, only just realizing the enormity of the situation he faced; he was facing dropping the kid's off with Alexis who lived about thirty minutes away, and then driving several hours to Sioux Falls to help Bobby out.

He picked up the phone without thinking. He knew that if he thought about the weight of this, he would never go through with it. He swiftly dialed Alexis's number and hoped she was home: She was a free spirit, liked to go out bar hopping and meeting new people. He hoped fervently that she had decided to reign herself in tonight and stay home.

"Hello?" Her always perky and friendly voice came over the line. He thanked his lucky stars before talking.

"Hey, small emergency: My friend needs me for something." He wasn't about to tell Alexis about his secret side job; that would be just a recipe for disaster for whenever she had a few drinks and started blabbing about what her brother-in-law did for a living. "He's pretty desperate so do you think you can come over?"

"No, that's not a problem."

"Are you sure? I can call Kate and see if she can come home."

"No, that's fine," she said instantly. "I think its good for her to get out, even if its to work, you know?"

John nodded. "That's true. Okay, um," he glanced at the clock above the stove and knew that if he didn't get moving, he would be on the road until morning. "Dean's going to be here with the baby," he glanced at Dean as he spoke, making sure that that was fine. Dean nodded hesitantly. "And you have a key, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, the door will be locked and he knows not to let anyone in so when you get here, just unlock the door."

"Okay. Will he be okay with the baby?"

John nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem. He's had a bath and his dinner so he should be set for awhile."

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Great."

He hung the phone back up on its cradle and sighed deeply. He had hated leaving Dean in charge of Sam when they were on their own, and he hated having to do it again; especially with a small infant to look after. He couldn't recall a time when he had stooped so low as to leave a child in charge of a four-month-old.

"Alright, Dean," he shook off the guilt that was running hot and cold through his body and addressed his oldest. "You know the rules: No answering the door, no answering the phone. If its me?"

"You'll call once and then call back."

"Correct. Alexis is coming as soon as she can. She has a key so don't worry about letting her in; she can get in by herself."

"I know, dad."

"Adam just had his bath, he just got fed, he just got changed, but if for some reason he's hungry again, just feed him some of that apple sauce that we have in the pantry."

"Okay, Dad."

"Put a bib on him and be careful," John warned. "He likes to try to grab the spoon; thinks its funny or something."

Dean cracked a small laugh at that. "Okay, noted."

"Sam?"

John waited until his middle child had turned to him. "I want you to take a shower-"

"But Dad," Sam whined. "I just took one last night."

"I don't care. Do it. Dean is in charg until Lex gets here."

"Fine," Sam pouted. "Can we watch-"

"I have control of the remote, Sammy," Dean gleefully reminded his brother. "My shows."

"Dean, be nice to your brother."

Dean rolled his eyes as if the notion that he wouldn't was absolutely ridiculous. "Of course."

John ignored his sarcasm and kissed all three kids on the head before going out through the garage door. The boys heard the garage door shut before the house was bathed in silence.

"Dean, Spider Man is on!" Sam whined when he saw Dean go past a channel that was playing the TV show. "Can we watch? Please!"

Dean looked over at Adam who was still in the car seat. "Okay, fine you can watch it...but only if you clean up Adam."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He just spit up all over the outfit Dad put him in. So he needs a new shirt or onesie."

"Eww!" Sam made a disgusted face.

"Its only spit up, Sam. I cleaned you up more times than I can count. You don't even have to touch it. Just get the stuff off him and you're all set."

"Fine. But you get him on the floor." Sam was nervous about picking up his little brother and accidentally dropping and hurting him.

Dean sighed but nodded and went over to the car seat, picked him up and set him carefully on the floor under the pale blue blanket that Sam had lied there. "He's all yours, Samantha," Dean grinned and laughed as he ducked a pillow that Sam threw his way.

"Not funny."

"I thought it was."

Dean watched as Sam disappeared up the stairs to Adam's room; he returned a few minutes later with a new outfit for his messy little brother. It was a Micky Mouse onesie along with a few cute images of Donald Duck and Goofy stitched on, too.

Dean took great amusement in watching Sam crouch down on the floor over Adam and gently work the messy shirt up and over his head, next he slid off the soft pants that had some leftover spit up on them and threw them into a pile.

"How do you do this, Dean?" Sam opened up the onesie and stared at it blankly as if he was trying to figure out a complicated math problem.

"Open it up and lay him inside the opening and then work his arms and legs through and then it buttons up in the front," Dean said lazily as if he done this a thousand times before. "Just practice. Practice makes perfect, right?"

"Go to hell," Sam mumbled but loud enough for Dean to hear. He gently picked Adam up and placed him over the outfit. Adam was greatly amused by the mess he had caused and was wearing a grin on his face and was wriggling his arms and legs around. Sam gently caught one arm and stuffed it in the opening and repeated the process with the rest of his limbs and then carefully buttoned up the front of it.

"Next time, I'll do it," Dean promised. "Scout's honor," he added when Sam looked dubious.

"Okay, turn on the show."

Sam half-expected him to go back on the deal but to his pleasant relief, Dean switched it on to Spider Man. "I'll take my shower after this episode."

"How long does it have left?" Dean asked tiredly.

"Ten minutes."

"Fine but if you give me crap, then I'm telling Lex and Dad."

"Tattle tale."


End file.
